Collapsible bedspread holder



April 1, 1969 B. w. FRICKE COLLAPSIBLE BEDSPREAD HOLDER Sheet 2 OrgFiled May 16 19 INVENTU ATTORNEY United States Patent US. Cl. -320 3Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to bedspreadholders disposed at the foot of a footboard-less bed having legs, amattress, and springs. More specifically, it deals with a fiat anchormember which is at least almost completely inserted between the mattressand the springs, and which has its forward portion hingeably connectedto a fiat bedspreadholding member, the front portion of which ishingeably connected to a leg member, the height of which is adequate tomaintain the holding member in substantially a horizontal position.

The forward portion of the anchoring member is preferably bent upwardly,but not high enough to extend beyond the top of the mattress. Also, thesides of the holding member may telescopically slide into the front andrear members so as to make the holding member extensible laterally. Aconnecting rod member is also provided, having a T on each end, said Tsbeing designed to fit into hollow front and rear members and thus enablejoining of two or more holding members in the case of multiple bedarrangements.

Background of the invention In the case of footboard-less beds, therehas been a need in the art for providing a place for setting aside,protecting, and facilitating the use of fragile, costly and often bulkyand cumbersome bedspreads, without di-sturbing the decor of the bedroom.Such a device would enable the conveniently setting aside of thebedspread when the occupant is using the bed, and make it readilypossible to cover the bed with the spread when the bed is not in use.Also, this should be possible without use of extensively-protruding orbulky means.

There has been proposed in Patent 2,979,736 a holder consisting of afinger-bearing framework having a leg, which may be pushed in betweenthe mattress and the springs, and then withdrawn, when it is to be usedfor holding the spread. One disadvantage of such a unit is that itincurs continual wear of the mattress and spring tickings and eventuallyinvolves poking of the fingers through the tickings. A furtherdisadvantage is that such a holder is too low, and it requires exposureof the bed for adjustment or use.

Another unit proposed in Patent 3,153,795, consists of crossable shelveswhich flatten against the mattress when it is not in use. Such a unithas the disadvantage, that it is in the way of the feet, when in use,and could be kicked by the feet so as to incur injury. It is alsosubject to accidental collapse when the bed is in use, with consequentpossible injury to the occupants feet or legs.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will be more readilyunderstood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 presents a top or plan view of a preferred embodiment of theinvention laid out in substantially one plane;

FIGURE 2 illustrates a side view of the unit depicted in FIGURE 1, as inuse at the end of a bed, the end portion of which is shown;

3,435,469 Patented Apr. 1, 1969 FIGURE 3 shows a side view similar tothat in FIG- URE 2, with the unit of the present invention collapsed(not in use) when the bed is not being occupied;

FIGURE 4 presents an end view of the unit when it is in use, as it isshown in FIGURE 2, but without the bedspread folded thereon;

FIGURE 5 depicts a partial end view of the unit when it is in collapsedcondition as in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 illustrates a side view of the unit when it is collapsedentirely for storage purposes;

FIGURE 7 presents a top or plan view of a modification of the holdermember of the present invention; and

FIGURE 8 shows a top or plan view of a coupling for use on the holdermember of the holder of FIGURE 7, when applied to a double bed.

The same numerals refer to similar parts in the various figures.

Description 0 the preferred embodiments Referring to the drawings,numeral 10 represents generally the anchoring member, numeral 11represents generally the holding member, while numeral 12 representsgenerally the leg member. Each member is prefer-ably made "of rigid rodor wire material, which may be made of metal, plastic, wood, or thelike.

Anchoring member .10 is made of a flat framework 13, preferably havingloops 14, 15, etc., all in one plane. The outer members 13' and 13"preferably have their terminal portions 16 and 17, respectively, bent at19 at right angles, for a height preferably less than, but desirably notmore than the height of mattress .18. Frame member 13' and 13" arehingeably connected at 20 to frame member 21 of holder member 11. Inthis case the hinges are loops formed on the ends of members 13' and13", circumscribing member 21.

As is apparent from FIGURES 2-4, anchoring member .10 is inserted up tobend 19, between mattress 18 and springs 27 of the bed, indicatedgenerally by numeral 28. Bed 28 is provided with frame 29 and legs 30.Frame 13, 13' and 13" are inserted between the mattress and springs andkept there for the duration of the use of the bedspread holder.

Holder rear frame member 2 1 is connected to side members 22 and 23, andto rear member 24, to form a generally rectangular-shaped holder. It isdesirably provided with cross members 25, serving not only to reinforcemembers 21 and 24, but also to support bedspread 26 placed thereon. Itis desirable that sides 22 and 23 of holder 11 be not longer than thedistance from hinges 20 to the floor 34, and preferably shorter enoughso as to enable sliding leg member 12 under the bed 28, when the holderis not in use.

Leg member 12 consists of legs 31 and 32, connected at their lowerportions by connecting member 33. These legs 31 and 32 are hingeablyconnected at their upper end at 35, to front frame member 24 of holder11. These legs are long enough so as to maintain holder 11 insubstantially horizontal position when the holder is in use, as inFIGURE 2.

When in use, the holder unit is set up as in FIGURES 2 and 3, with legmember 12 supporting holder member 11 in horizontal position, so as toenable it to hold the folded quilt or bedspread 26. When the holder unitis not in use, bedspread 26 is removed, the leg member 12 is collapsedto fold under the bed, as in FIGURES 3 and 5. Thereafter, bedspread 26is spread over the bed and draped over the foot of the bed to cover theflat anchoring members 1647, and flat holder member 11, which wouldotherwise be visible.

When the holder unit is to be removed and stored or shipped, it iscollapsed into a compact assembly, as in 3 FIGURE 6, which shouldrequire no further explanation.

As is apparent from FIGURE 7, the holder member 11 may have the frontand rear frame members 24' and 21' in the form of hollow tubes intowhich may be inserted telescopically the bent ends 22a and 23b of holderframe sides 22 and 23, respectively. This makes it possible to extendsides 22 and 23 laterally, so as to adjust for the width of the bed, ifdesired.

Also, as is seen from FIGURE 7, the inner free area between holder framemembers 21 or 21, 22, 23, and 24 or 24', may be filled with wire mesh,or woven plastic strips 36, or the like, in lieu of crossbars 25.

As shown in FIGURE 8, it can be seen that, in the case of twin beds, forexample, it is possible to connect hollow frame member 21' and 24 with aconnector rod 37 connected to a cross-piece 38 and 39, on each end,these pieces fitting into the hollow ends of member 21' and 24', thusmaking it possible to handle both holder units as a single unit.

It is thus apparent that the present invention provides a bedspreadholder which need not be rubbed repeatedly between mattress and springs,and which is readily manufactured, and easily collapsed into a smallvolume for shipping. The unit may also be employed for other purposes,such as luggage rack, for example.

I claim:

1. A collapsible bedspread holder to be used on a footboardless bedhaving legs, a mattress and springs, and comprising:

a flat stationary anchoring member having a front portion and a rearportion, and designed to be disposed at least almost entirely betweensaid mattress and said springs,

a bedspread holding member having a rear portion hingeably attached tothe front portion of said anchoring member, and also having sides and afront portion, and having a distance between its front and rear portionsno greater than the distance between its portion hinged to saidanchoring member and the floor, but great enough to enable thehereinafter-mentioned leg member to be collapsed and pushed under thebed, and

a flat leg member having a rear portion hingeably connected to the frontportion of said holding member, the height of said leg member being suchas to maintain said holding member in substantially horizontal positionwhen in use, said leg member being collapsible rearwardly when not inuse so as to be concealed under said bed.

2. A collapsible bedspread holder, according to claim 1, in which theforward portion of said anchoring member is bent upwardly for a heightnot exceeding the height of said mattress.

3. A collapsible bedspread holder, according to claim 1 in which atleast one side portion of said holding mem ber comprises a rod having aT on each end, the Ts being designed to fit into corresponding front andrear hollow portions of separate holding members, whereby two or moreholding members may be moved as a unit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,710,414 6/1955 Emery 5-3192,863,156 12/1958 Hoexter 5319 X 2,979,736 4/1961 Kemman 5-318 X3,153,795 10/1964 Emery 5-319 3,241,159 3/1966 Reed 5-318 CASMIR A.NUNBERG, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 248--

